Knights in Need of Comfort
by neuroticperoxideblonde
Summary: Post The Gift.The scooby gang struggles with the changes after their final fight with Glory.spander being revamped
1. End of the battle, beginning of the War

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Summary: Takes place after _The Gift _. sort of a hurt/comfort story.

: Takes place after . sort of a hurt/comfort story. 

Pairings: first X&S but then X/S. implied past A/S. A&S. D&S. slight A/Wes

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss Whedon & etc. I own nothing. Because if I did I would change a lot of the pairings in the show. grins evilly slash alert!

Some things you need to know before you read this fic:

Okay.

1. When Xander proposed to Anya, and she refused thinking that it was only out of fear that they would die that day, Xander doesn't argue this time. Instead he begins to think and realizes she is probably right. They then decide to just be friends.

2. Xander and Spike learned to tolerate each other they were roommates a little more than they did in the show.

3. Umm…I'm kinda in a buffy-bashing mood while I'm writing this.

Xander Harris looked around in shock at the horrifying scene around him. There in front of him on a pile of rubble lay the dead body of one of his best friends. Buffy had sacrificed herself by jumping into the portal to stop the demons from getting through and killing all of the earth.

He looked to his left. There stood Willow and Tara, who other than a few scratches and Tara's cast being destroyed, looked like they had not been injured. Giles was fine. He had blood on his hand, but it didn't look like it was his. Xander didn't even bother to wonder about how that had happened. Near Giles lay Anya. She was gaining consciousness and seemed to be fine except for some bruises where the debris had hit her. He started towards her then stopped when he saw that Tara was already making her way over to check on her.

Xander finally made himself check on the people he knew would hurting the most. Behind him, Dawn stood on the steps sobbing and clutching at her bleeding stomach. Finally, he looked to his right and saw that Spike had collapsed on the ground and was openly crying as well. Blood covered the back of his leather duster, and his leg was twisted at a strange angle. Xander cringed in empathy just thinking about how much pain that was probably causing.

Suddenly, he snapped out of his shock and realized they needed to do something before anyone showed up. He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Willow while trying not to look at her puffy, red eyes or completely lost look that he knew would easily send him into hysterics as well.

"Here. Call 911 and tell them there's been an accident. Tell them we were walking through a construction site to try to get out of the storm, and when we did some lightening hit the tower and a large piece broke off."

Amazing how making up stories for all those times he had to go to school with black eyes was actually coming in use now.

He paused before saying the next part. Hating how insensitive it sounded even to him.

"Oh. And if they need more details tell them one of our friends is unconscious and stuck under some rubble, so we can't tell how hurt she is. Please make sure they take a look at Dawn and Anya too."

"Sure. But what are you going to do?" Willow asked him and took the cell.

He looked over to where Spike sat. Dawn had moved to sit on the ground next to him, and they were both clinging to each other in grief.

"I need to get Spike back to the house. The sun's going to be up soon." He didn't notice the strange look Willow shot him at that statement.

"Okay. We'll meet you there after Dawn and Anya are taken care of." Willow took the phone and started dialing 911 as Xander walked over to Giles. He quickly filled him in on the story he had just told Willow, and he also gave him some ideas of how to explain everyone's injuries. Giles, coming out of his shock, finally decided to ask Xander a question.

"What are you going to be doing?"

" I'm going to take Spike back to the house before the sun comes up."

"But why?"

"He helped us fight. He got injured trying to save Dawn. I think he's earned our trust by now. So I'm going to help him out. Please take care of the girls for me."

"Of course."

Xander then moved to where Buffy's body lay. He knew what he had to do. Lifting up the light body of one of his now late best friends, he gently moved her off the pile of debris to lie on the ground. He covered her under a pile of the heavy metal making it seem as though the construction materials had fallen on top of her. No one tried to stop him. They were all too lost in their own grief to notice what was being done.

'It's a sad time when the Zeppo of the group has to take charge.' He thought bitterly to himself.

When he was finished with his morbid task he slowly made his way over to where Dawn and Spike were collapsed on the ground holding each other while they both sobbed for the lost warrior, the person they both cared about the most. He kneeled down next to them and threw an arm around both of them. After a few moments, when their sobs had died down some, he realized he had to hurry and get them out of there.

"Dawn, an ambulance is going to be here soon. I need you to go with them. Giles has a cover story, and he'll fill you in on it. The other girls are going to go with you too."

"But…But what about Spike?" Dawn managed to ask as she was now hiccupping.

"Don't worry. I'm going to take him to your house and help him bandage some of his injuries. We'll still be there when you get back."

"Thank you….Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen now?"

Xander looked at her, remembering now how young she truly was. He didn't want to lie to her, but the truth that it was probably going to get worst didn't seem to be the right thing to say either. Finally he found something to say that sounded appropiate.

"I don't really know, but whatever happens you can be sure we're going to take care of you. Now, you need to go over to where the others are. Alright?"

Dawn nodded and hugged Spike one more time, before hurrying over to where the others were waiting.

When she was out of hearing distance he turned his attention back to the injured blonde at his side. "So….how bad are you hurt?"

He was given no answer. 'Great. First he won't shut up, now he won't talk. Always with the extremes.'

"At least tell me if you can walk."

A long pause followed, and Xander began to think that he was being ignored again.

"I can walk," Spike quietly responded. Xander stood then helped the smaller man to his feet.

He noticed that there was a pool of blood on the ground next to his feet. Looking over Spike, he tried to figure out where that much blood could have possibly come from. The left pants leg of the vampire black jeans were now an even darker shade of black and appeared to cling to his leg which looked like it was bent at an awkward angle. The blonde tried to take a few steps only to fall backwards onto the ground.

"Bugger this." He mumbled as his broken leg was jolted by the impact.

Leaning down, the bigger man quickly but gently scooped him up into his arms.

"Hey, Whelp! Wot do you think you're doing!"

"Making sure you get to the house before the sun fries you into a little pile of ashes." He replied, easily falling into their usual pattern of bantering.

"humph." Spike replied before falling into silence once again.

Xander waited to hear the usual complaints, but when none came he began to worry. Spike was never quiet; he was always the most vocal about his emotions, no matter what they were. Xander wished he would just say something, anything, just to make the situation a little bit easier to deal with. Because with the silence he was given the chance for his brain to actually process everything that had just happened, and that was something he really didn't want.

**to be continued……. **

Flames will be used to heat up hot cocoa, which will then be filled with lots of marshmallows.


	2. Bandages, Blood, and Blushes

Thanks for the reviews! And sorry about the spacing on the first chappy. I was trying out a new writing program and couldn't figure out the how to space the document.

Yay! I'm getting better at this whole update thing!

BTW. I still don't own anything.

The two made their way back to the house in silence and arrived just as the sun was rising.

Xander placed the vampire on the couch, before moving to close all the curtains in the living room. Grabbing a first aid kit from the bathroom, he returned to where he had left Spike only to discover that the blonde had fallen asleep.

Xander walked over and sat on the edge of the couch. He carefully removed the vampire's leather duster and placed it on one of the chairs.

'_He's going to be so mad about that hole in it_,' the brunette thought as he saw the huge tear where Doc had stabbed Spike.

He then tried to gently ease the black shirt off. This was definitely going to hurt. He cringedwhen he realized that the blood had already started drying,making the shirt stick. He tried to pull it off. As he did, Spike suddenly shot up and screamed in pain.

"Shh…Take it easy. Lay back down before you break something else."

Spike gave him a confused look but did as he said. He had to wonder why the whelp was acting so weird though.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"Why are you helping me? I thought you lot hated me."

"None of us hate you. We just find you cocky, arrogant, and annoying."

"Then why are you helping me?"

"Because you helped us. You got injured trying to protect us, well, at least some of us. Besides it's what…she would want me to do."

When he said that he noticed a dark look pass over the other man's features, so he quickly changed the subject.

"We'll have to cut the shirt. There's too much blood for us to just pull it off."

Spike nodded his agreement, and Xander left to get the scissors. A few moments later he returned to find the blonde sitting exactly as he had left him. After the shirt had been removed, Xander could easily see that three of the vampire's ribs had been broken. Not only that, but it looked like the smaller man's body was almost to the point of being emaciated.

_I'll have to remember to ask him about that later. He would have had to not fed in a couple of weeks to get to this state. _

"Okay. Let's get you bandaged before the rest of the gang gets back."

They soon discovered that besides the practically shattered ribs, Spike also had a badly broken and freely bleeding left leg and a deep wound from where he had been stabbed.

When he had finished bandaging him, Xander went to the kitchen to see if there was any blood. He returned empty-handed.

"Sorry. Looks like there's no blood. Think you can wait until the others can bring you some. I don't like the idea of leaving you here alone."

"I can wait. Besides I think I'm going to get sleep."

"Yeah. That's probably a good idea. You do that, and I'm going to go call G-man and remind him to pick some up."

After a quick phone call, Xander returned to find that Spike was still awake and just staring off into space.

_Oh, great he's brooding. He'd kill me if he knew I had just thought that. _

"Hey, Dawn said for us to go ahead and pick which rooms we'd like to stay in. She doesn't want to be alone, and everyone's agreed that it'd probably be better if we all stayed here for awhile. What do you think?"

Another nod was the only answer he got, so he decided to ask again.

"So…Which room do you want?"

"The basement's fine."

"I thought you were never staying in a basement again."

"This basement's much better than that hellhole you used to live in."

Xander was a little relieved that Spike was starting to act more like himself.

"Yeah. I hafta admit that this basement's much better. Specially the neighbors," he joked, "Guess I'll have to fix the place up later today."

"Can't wait to see that," the blonde leered causing the other man to blush profusely.

"Um…I'm gonna…uh…what should we do while we wait for the others?"

_Oh, this is great. I've been turned back into the self conscious, stuttering, Zippo I thought I had gotten rid of years ago. _

Spike shrugged and slouched farther into the couch.

"Wait. I thought you were going to get some sleep."

"Can't. Adrenaline rush hasn't worn off yet."

"Yeah, same here."

Insert Awkward Pause

"Wanna watch TV?"

"Sure, Mate."

Xander collapsed onto the couch next to him and picked up the remote. Which Spike immediately took from him. Then he tried to get it back only to have the blonde snatch it again. This continued for about well as long as their attention spans could handle it. Ending with Spike as the winner, the two settled in to watch...

"Passions!" Xander screeched.

"Lookie. They're having a special marathon of it today." Spike replied motioning towards the little message thing that appears in the corner of the tv that shows what you're watching or what's coming on later. 1.

_This is going to be a long day. _

To be continued…

Thoughts? Anyone?

Please review.

1. What is that thing called?

Flames will now be used to make hot tea for the cold I'm currently suffering from.


	3. Kodak Moments

**Hello everyone! I'm finally over that evil cold I had. Sorry for not updating sooner, but things have been really hectic recently.**

**Since it's a new year I've decided to make a few changes to my writing style.**

**-longer chapters -quicker updates**

**But I am usually a lost cause when it comes to keeping resolutions, so we'll just see what's happening.**

**Also I'm afraid Xander and Spike might be becoming a bit OOC. Please tell me if you think so, and I'll work on it. If not, well, I'll write what I've already got.**

**This chappy was written with the help of one of my bestest friends in the whole world. Much thanx and love to Starla.**

**Well, here's the next chappy.  
Enjoy!

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A few hours later Giles, Willow, Tara, Dawn, and Anya arrived at the Summer's house.  
Wearily trudging indoors, they staggered in shock at the sight that greeted them.

"Awww! A Kodak moment" Willow weakly teased.

Xander was still on the couch watching Justice League on mute (thankful to have gotten rid of Passions); while Spike had fallen asleep and was currently using Xander's thigh as a pillow.

"It's so cute." Tara said smiling at the two on the couch.

"hmm..Now, Xan, you two didn't do anything that..."Anya began to tease in her usual tactless manner.(that everyone loves her for)

"Shut up." Xander rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the TV.

"You could at least ask us if we're okay," the red-head witch lectured jokingly.

When she said that, Xander forgot any aggravations they had just caused him and went into serious mode.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Yes, I believe we will all recover quickly. At least physically." Giles mumbled the last part. Xander almost laughed to see the Watcher wiping off his already clean glasses. It was a habit the Scoobies had become familiar with over the past couple of years.

After that there was a moment's silence before Giles spoke up again.

"I think it would be best if we all got some sleep."

"Um…if you guys don't mind…I'd really like it if you would all stay here…at least tonight."

"Sure, Dawnie, we'll stay for as long as you need us." Willow assured the girl.

"Yeah, of course" the others responded.

"Thanks, you can go ahead and pick your rooms, I'm going to go shower and change out of this ridiculous outfit," Dawn looked disgustedly at the purple dress she was still wearing. Xander had to wonder how they had explained that to the hospital.

In the end Willow and Tara took Joyce's room, Dawn kept her room, Anya took Buffy's room, Giles was to have the couch, and Xander and Spike were going to share the basement. While the girls went to their beds Xander asked to speak with Giles.

"What do you need, Xander?"

"Did you get the blood?"

"Oh, of course, here." he said handing him a brown bag with eight pints of blood in it. Xander carefully slid out from under the sleeping blonde. Xander worriedly glanced at the vampire, for him to have slept through all their talking there had to be something seriously wrong with him.

"By the way, how did you happen to get into such a situation?" Giles interrupted the brunette's train of thought.

"We were just watching TV, and he fell asleep. I know he needs the rest, so I just let him keep sleeping."

He didn't tell him that a commercial that had reminded him of Buffy had caused him to break down and start crying; and when Spike was trying to comfort him, he had broken down as well. The blonde had ended up practically in the other's lap and started to fall asleep. Xander had noticed and convinced him to lay down.

"I need to go heat this." Xander said hurriedly suddenly needing to get away from Giles as he felt himself blushing at the memory.

"Right go on."

"Oh, please let him sleep til I get back."

Giles absently nodded that he would and the younger man went to the kitchen. After a few minutes he returned with a cuppa blood.

"Hey! Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" Xander called out trying to fall back into his usual jokester attitude, but his tone was lacking the energy. Spike moaned and pulled himself up, so Xander could hand him the mug.

"Thanks, mate."

Giles sat down on the couch next to him.

"Giles, can I get something for you? Tea? Coffee? Anything?"

"Got anything stronger?"

Xander stared funnily at the usually conservative British man before continuing.

"Sorry, Joyce had banned anything alcoholic from entering her house. I never did understand her. She'd let vampires in but no beer."

"Then no thank you."

"Right. If neither of you need anything, I need to go set up the basement."

"We're good."

"Ok. It shouldn't take me too long to set up two cots." Xander said before leaving. A few moments of silence passed in which Spike sat quietly drinking the blood and Giles sat with his face in his hands.

"Wait! Did he say two cots?"

"We're all staying here tonight, so it was decided that you and Xander would share the basement."

"Oh, okay then." Spike went back to slowly drinking the disgusting pig's blood and staring blankly at the tv. Giles was just relieved he didn't have to talk any longer.

Down in the basement, Xander had discovered the cots buried under a huge pile of camping stuff. He had to wonder why they had so much camping gear when he knew none of the Summer women had every been camping before. Most of the stuff was still in its original package. Xander set up two cots parallel to each other, but with three feet in between them. Not entirely sure why. It wasn't like the two of them hadn't shared a bed before. _Hey that was completely platonic! We were both injured that night and couldn't afford sleeping on the couch or chair. And the other time we were both drunk_. Then he ran upstairs to grab some sheets and pillows out of the closet, he quickly made up their cots.

" Hey, Spike, you ready for bed yet?" He asked as he rentered the living room.

"Angel" was a muttered response.

"Huh? What?"

"Angel. We need to call Angel. He's going to know something's wrong."

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**To be continued………………..**

**Don't worry the next chapter will be up shortly.**

**In the meantime. Please review. Constructive criticism and comments welcome. Flames will be used to burn my evil textbook.**

**Also, I've had over 300 hits and only 4 reviews.**

**(many thanks to those that reviewed. )**

**But I'm beginning to get discouraged. Put simply**

**Me discouraged slow updates**

**I know that sounds evil. I'm not evil! points to halo, which coincidently falls off at the same moment. oops. **

**But really. I promise to update as soon as I can.**

**Until later.**


	4. Dreaded Phone Calls

**Look, I posted two chapters on the same day! Be amazed. Be shocked. Be very scared. Jk.**

**Here goes.**

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"Angel. We need to call Angel. He's going to know something's wrong," Spike muttered.

The other two knew it was true, but neither had wanted to admit. Almost every male in Sunnydale had a grudge against LA's Crusader for justice.

"I don't see why any of this concerns him," complained Giles.

"Spike's right. Angel deserves to know what happened, as much as I hate to admit that. So who's going to be the one to make the call?" Xander asked while pointedly glaring at the Watcher.

After several minutes where none of them said nothing, and Giles tried to avoid Xander's rare death glare, Spike finally spoke up.

"I'll do it," he announced wearily and gave Xander a _"I'm totally in pain please don't make me do this"_ looks that he had seen his Nibblet use several times.

"No, I'll do it. You look like you're about to pass out already, so I'll help you to bed then call up Deadboy."

Xander made a mental note to get revenge with Giles, while Spike congratulated himself on his successful plan to get out of being the one to call the poof.

"I can get myself to bed." Spike stood, took a few steps, and stumbled like the last time, but this time Xander caught him before he could collapse into an ungraceful heap on the floor. He swept him up bridal style and carried him to the basement.

"Oh, luv, I didn't know you cared." Spike teased in a faux feminine voice. Xander rolled his eyes and tried not to show the smile that was appearing on his face.

"Why of course, I do, my dear." he joked back in a fake gentlemanly voice. Then switching back to his normal voice, he said in a softer tone, "Get some rest, ok?" He tucked the smaller man into bed then turned to make a call he definitely wasn't looking forward to.

"Xander."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for you know, helping me."

"You're part of the gang now. It's what we do for each other. Now sleep"  
"Mmmhmm."

When he got upstairs, he looked up Angel's number on the list next to the phone. He picked up the phone, took a deep breath, and slowly dialed the number.

"Angel Investigations, how may I help you?" said a female with a southern accent.

"I need to speak with Angel. It's urgent."

"Hold on a second."

A few seconds later, Angel's voice came over the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Angel?"

"Yes, well what do you need?"

"I have something really bad I have to tell you."

"What? What is it?"

"It's Buffy."

"What? Is she hurt?"

"Angel, she's dead. She died a few hours ago when she sacrificed herself to save all of us."

The phone fell with a bang onto Angel's desk. Xander could hear him screamin in anguish. Next he heard footsteps and another person picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Cordy."

"Xander, why are you calling?"

Xander explained to her what he had told Angel. There was a moment of silence then Cordelia started talking again.

"Is there going to be any type of service?"

"I'm sure there will be, but I've been so busy with covering up what really happened from the cops, taking care of Spike, and making sure everyone else is alright, that I don't know if anyone's even thought of that"

"Wait a minute! What was that about Spike? He's not causing you any trouble is he?" Angel asked, stealing the phone back from Cordy.

"Actually, I just needed to ask you a question."

"Go on."

"What kind of blood is best to help a vampire heal?"

"If the injury is really bad, it would be best to have Sire's blood. Why?"

"Spike's hurt and it's really bad."

"You're helping him?"

"Yeah, he's been helping us fight for the past couple years. He's also been protecting Buffy and Dawn, in fact, that's how he got injured."

"How bad is it?"

"Three completely broken ribs, a huge stab wound at the base of his back, a shattered leg, massive blood loss, severe bruising. Then I found out that until I had him drink a mug of blood tonight, he hasn't fed in two weeks."

"Why would he do something so foolish!"

"I have no idea."

"Oh…how are the other's doing?"

"Just got some scratches and bruises, except Dawn's got some cuts, but they weren't bad enough that she needed stitches."

Suddenly he heard retching sounds coming from the kitchen. Spike had managed to get himself from the basement to the kitchen sink where he was proceeding to throw up what little he had eaten before.

"Hey, Angel, hold on a second."

"Alright."

Xander placed the phone on the kitchen counter then moved a chair over and placed it behind Spike.

"Here, sit," he said helping onto the chair when he finally stopped vomiting. "What's wrong?"

"Just one of my ribs punctured my stomach."

"Are you gonna be alright?"

"It'll heal in a few days."

"C'mon. I'll help you back downstairs if you think you're finished."

"Thanks."

Xander carried Spike and helped him back in bed. Then he found a trash can and placed it next to the blonde's cot. "Just in case. G'night, Spike."

"Night, Mate."

Xander hurried back upstairs to pick up the phone.

"Hey, Angel, sorry about that it's just…"

"I know. I heard Spike. Would anyone mind was to come stay there and help with everything?"

"No, actually if you don't mind sharing the basement with me and Spike you could stay at the house with the rest of us."

"That's fine. I'll be there tonight."

"Wait! What about Spike? He's in a lot of pain."

"Fix him another pack of blood, but make sure he only takes small sips every couple of minutes. That should help until I get there."

"Thanks. I'll help go do that. See ya later."

Both men hung up then Xander heated some more blood. He carefully carried the mug downstairs.

Cause it's one thing to spill hot coffee on one's self, but it's a completely different thing to spill hot blood on yourself.

"Did you call him?" Spike asked as Xander entered the basement.

"Yeah. He'll be here tonight. Until then, he said for you to try feeding some but just take small sips."

He handed the mug to Spike, who took it and looked at it with distaste. He took a sip, paused then to try to keep it down. After thirty minutes, he had managed to drink half of it, before he started complaining that he was tired.

"Alright. Then go to sleep. I'm going to wait for the others to show."

"No, Whelp, you need to sleep too. You're running on adrenaline and trust me, it's gonna run out soon."

"Fine. I'll go rinse this out then I'll come right back."

When Xander got back from putting the cup up he dragged himself into the bed across from Spike, and fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the pillow.

Spike, meanwhile, wasn't having as easy of a time. There was no way he could lay or sit that didn't cause pain. So, he lay there quietly pretending to sleep. The occasional moments of sleep that he did get were filled with nightmares of Buffy's death. He sighed as he woke for the fifth time that day from the dreams.

_The poofter better get here soon._

**To be continued…..**

**Very soon.**

**Starla helped on this chapter too. She's getting really good at typing. LoL**


	5. Angel Finds Something Weird

**Today I was reading an incredible story that someone posted and right when it got interesting the writer had stopped., and that reminded me that I haven't updated in awhile. Soooo.  
Sorry for the wait. Well, here goes.

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Meanwhile, Angel, Cordelia ,Wesley, Gunn, and Fred were on their way to Sunnydale.

"So, Angel why exactly are we taking this field trip again?" Gunn asked from the where he was sitting in the back.

With the exception of Cordelia and Angel none of the others knew that Buffy had been killed.

Angel sighed from where he was in the driver's seat. He really wasn't in the mood to discuss the tense subject any more that night. Luckily for him, Cordelia decided to speak up for him.

"We got a call from Xander tonight with some really horrible news."

"What did he have to say?" asked Wesley who remembered the only male Scooby from his brief time spent as Buffy's watcher.

"Well, it seems the gang fought this huge battle against this hell god thing and there was a portal opened that was allowing all these demons through it into our world. Anyway, it seems the only way to save the world was if Buffy sacrificed herself to close the portal off. And so she did."

"So you're saying that this Buffy girl is dead?" Gunn asked.

"Yeah. She is."

There was a moment of silence before Wesley spoke up again.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

"Not really. Just some of the gang was hurt, so we're going to go help with the post battle stuff. You know, the usual cover up stories, get rid of the evidence, make sure the baddy's really gone kind of thing. And then there's the….the funeral arrangements and all the technical stuff that will need to be handled," Cordelia explained softly.

"We're here," Angel announced interrupting their conversation.

The group got out of the car and walked towards the house. Angel and Cordelia led the way, with Wesley following them with Fred slightly clinging to his arm in her nervousness of meeting everyone she had heard so much about, and Gunn walked in the back.

Cordelia rang the doorbell, and the gang was greeted by a half-asleep Giles.

"Come in," he said and stepped aside to let them enter. "Everyone's still asleep…Would any of you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you. We're fine," Wesley replied as they were showed to the living room.

"Where's Spike?" Angel suddenly interrupted.

"He and Xander are asleep in the basement."

"Thanks."

Angel headed towards where he knew the basement was and attempted to enter the room as quietly as possible.  
" 'ello, Peaches. Long time no see."

Angel crossed the room to take a seat closer to the blonde before choosing to comment back.

"You look almost as bad as that time you got beat in Romania."

"Really? As I recall, it was you that got your arse kicked in Romania."

The two made several more sarcastic comments before Angel finally became serious.

"But really, how are you feeling?"

"Like hell."

A slight stirring from the other bed caused them both to stop talking as Xander woke up and saw that Angel was there.

" Hey, Deadboy, when did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Cordelia and everyone else is upstairs talking to Giles."

"Hey, Mate, go back to sleep."

"I will but right now I'm starving. I'm going to get something to eat. Want me to get you anything?"

"No thanks, Pet."

Angel's head jerked up at the last comment. Either Spike had gotten a head injury that was causing him to act OOC, or something really weird was going on. And was 1

"What about you, Deadboy?" Xander asked interrupting his thoughts.

"huh? What?"

"I asked if you wanted me to get you anything."

"No, I think I'll just go with you and get myself some blood."

"Oh, alright. And you," Xander turned so that he was addressing Spike, "Don't try to move, or you'll reopen your wounds. We'll be back in a few minutes."

Angel followed Xander up the stairs to the kitchen. Something weird was definitely going on between those two, and Angel was going to find out what.

TBC….

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1. I know Angel probably has no clue what OOC stands for, but I know all of you do, and typing it out just seemed like it would be too strenuous. Of course, if I would have just typed it out, it would have saved me the trouble of having to write this long, basically unnecessary explanation. Why don't I ever think these things through?

Ok. I know this chappy's not exactly long, but bear with me. I'm having serious writer's block.

Really wanting reviews. Please, Please, Please review. Who knows, it might help clear up that writer's block I'm suffering from.


	6. Brekkie!

I'm uber sorry for the delay, but writer's block has been a serious migraine lately. 

disclaimer: I don't own them, but occasionally I do take the boys out to play. Lol.

* * *

Angel watched as Xander made his way through the kitchen. He wondered if it would be better to confront Xander with his suspicions or to remain snoopy and broody about it. Because we all know Angel so well I think we can all predict which choice he went with. 

After putting a pack of blood in the microwave, he made his way to the living room where the others were.

"I'm going to be staying here today, if you want to all of you should go ahead and find a hotel to stay in. Charge anything you need to my card," Angel told them and took out one of his credit cards.

He went to hand it to Wesley, but Cordelia intercepted it. "Don't worry. We'll only use it for necessities." Angel cringed as he considered the cost of Cordelia's so-called "necessities."

The others said good bye to Giles, and Fred and Cordy hugged Angel to the point of nearly crushing his ribs. Then the four human members of the Fang gang left for the hotel. (after Angel made Wesley promise to keep an eye on Cordy's spending)

"I'll be getting some tea," Giles said wearily and slowly made his way towards the kitchen.

Angel nodded, forgetting for a moment what he was supposed to be doing and instead collapsing into the armchair. Resting his head in his hands, he began sobbing as he thought over the events of the past couple of days. Buffy was gone. The woman he had loved more than any other woman was gone. Forever. There was no getting her back.

After a few moments he sensed Giles returning to the living room. He quickly stood, wiping his face to rid it of any signs that he had just broken down then watched as Giles entered the room with his tea. The watcher looked so much older, like he had suddenly gotten ten years older in only the past two days. "Will you be staying with us long?" Giles asked the vampire.

"I'll be staying as long as you guys need me to." He replied.

Giles nodded and sat down on the couch. A few moments later the beep of the microwave alerted Angel that his blood was now heated.

"I'll go check on Spike again. You should get some rest," Angel remarked to the watcher before reentering the kitchen.

He looked around the kitchen for Xander only to find the mess the boy had left behind. _He must have taken his food downstairs._ Angel searched the cabinets for a mug then poured the blood into it, throwing the packet away. Then he decided that he'd join the two downstairs. Maybe he could figure out just what was going on between them.

He grabbed the mug and walked down the stairs to the basement. He was greeted by the sound of laughter and the ending of some story that Xander had been telling about when he and Anya had been together.

Who was Anya? Angel briefly wondered before he heard Spike speak up.

"Ya think that's bad. There was this time that Dru and I…"

Spike stopped when he sensed Angel on the stairs.

"Oi! Poofter. Ya eavesdroppin'? Or are you so old that it actually takes you that long to get down the stairs?"

Angel walked into the room choosing to ignore the comment that the blonde vampire had just made. He was slightly surprised to see both of the younger males eating the breakfast that Xander had made.

"Since when do you eat food?" Angel asked sitting on the unoccupied cot across from where Xander and Spike were seated.

"For slightly over 120yrs now," was the remark he received_. Why didn't I know that?_

"We're gonna need someone to go grocery shopping soon." Xander announced around a mouthful of eggs.

"Pet, swallow then talk. That's disgusting." Spike exclaimed reaching for the last piece of bacon on the plate.

"Yeah, and like you're adding Weet-a-bix to your blood isn't." The brunette retorted while attempting to grab the bacon first and only managing to get a small piece of it. He frowned at it then tossed it in his mouth while taking another piece of toast.

Angel watched as he broke off the more burnt edges handing them to Spike, who ate those, while he ate the barely toasted part of the bread.

Finally Angel couldn't take it any longer.

"What is going on with you two?"

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I'm sorry. I know it's another short chapter, but I just couldn't think of anything else to add. I think I'm in a rut. I have a plot, but I just can't seem to get around to it. 

hangs head in shame

Besides that my muse is on a strike. She is currentlyordering that I give her more yaoi manga or else she will never inspire me again. She can be so demanding!


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